Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a camera for capturing an image around a vehicle body; a monitor provided in a vehicle interior; and a display control unit for controlling a display of the monitor. The monitor has a rectangle-shaped display face, and is supported switchably between a vertically elongated posture and a horizontally elongated posture. When the monitor is switched to the vertically elongated posture, based on an image captured by the camera, the display control unit displays a top view image of a road surface around the vehicle body seen from above on the monitor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/062,855 filed Mar. 8, 2011, which is a National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2009/070548 filed Dec. 8, 2009,claiming priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-322691filed Dec. 18, 2008, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-322692filed Dec. 18, 2008, the contents of all of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a display device, particularly to atechnique for displaying an image captured by an on-board camera on amonitor provided in a vehicle interior of an automobile or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

As a display device configured as described above, Patent Document 1describes a display (monitor in the present invention) having a firstside and a second side longer than the first side, provided in a vehicleinterior. This display is configured to be switchable between ahorizontally oriented state and a vertically oriented state and isprovided with a switch for detecting the state (posture of the display).In addition, a camera for capturing an image of a road surface on alateral side of a vehicle body is provided in a door mirror housing on aleft side (or passenger seat side), and a navigation device foracquiring navigation information corresponding to a current location ofthe vehicle body is further provided. When the display is in thehorizontally oriented state, the navigation information from thenavigation device is displayed in accordance with a state of the switch,and when the display is in the vertically oriented state, the imagecaptured by the camera is displayed in accordance with the state of theswitch.

Patent Document 2 describes the display device including: a camera forcapturing an image rearward of the vehicle body; a normal picture outputdevice for outputting a normal picture, such as navigation picture andforward picture; and a microcomputer for inputting a position of a shiftlever and a vehicle speed signal. In Patent Document 2, a shift to aparking travel mode is performed based on a shift position and a vehiclespeed, and a rearward picture from the camera, instead of the normalpicture, is displayed on the monitor. Once the mode is shifted to theparking travel mode, as long as a predetermined vehicle speed is met,the rearward picture from the camera is displayed on the monitor,regardless of the shift position of the shift lever.

CITATION LIST Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2000-201347 (paragraphs [0018], [0019] and FIG. 9)

Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 10-217852 (paragraphs [0016]-[0022], and FIGS. 1 and 2)

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

When the vehicle body is moved backward for leading the vehicle body tothe parking position, a driver checks a presence of an obstacle and theroad surface rearward of the vehicle body as well as those on thepassenger seat side.

However the technique of Patent Document 2 merely displays the capturedimage rearward of the vehicle body on the monitor, through an operationof the shift lever. On the other hand, the technique of Patent Document1 merely displays a captured image of the road surface on the passengerseat side on the monitor, instead of a navigation image, by switching aposture of the monitor. Accordingly, it may be considered to provideswitches for selecting the image rearward of the vehicle body and animage of the road surface on the lateral side of the vehicle body andfor displaying the selected image. However, providing the switches mayresult in complicated operation, and thus in poor operability.

Especially in a driving situation, such as parking operation, a drivertends to give preference to safety, and thus, for example, may refrainfrom operating a switch with which the driver does not exactlyunderstand its purpose. As a result, the switch and in turn the functionregarding the switch may not be utilized. Therefore, there has been ademand for a switch that can be intuitively understood by the driver.

When the vehicle body is moved backward during the parking operation, itis 2 desirable from a viewpoint of visibility that the road surfacecondition or a position of the obstacle on a rear side of the vehiclebody is displayed on a wide screen oriented in a horizontal direction.It is also desirable from the viewpoint of visibility that the roadsurface condition or the position of the obstacle on the lateral side ofthe vehicle body which is difficult to be visually checked from thedriver's seat is displayed on a long screen extending in a verticaldirection which follows a front-rear direction of the vehicle body.

When such a visibility is taken into account, it can be said that theposture of the monitor and the image displayed on the monitor areclosely related to each other, and therefore, it has been demanded toreasonably combine the posture of the monitor and the image to bedisplayed without necessity of complicated operations.

An object of the present invention is to reasonably configure thedisplay device for displaying the condition of the road surface and thepresence of the obstacle around the vehicle body on the monitor duringparking of the vehicle body, without effort but with excellentvisibility.

Solution To Problem

The feature of the present invention lies in that a display deviceincludes: a camera for capturing an image around a vehicle body; amonitor provided in a vehicle interior; and a display control unit forcontrolling a display on the monitor, the monitor having arectangle-shaped display face, and being supported switchably between avertically elongated posture and a horizontally elongated posture, andthe display control unit displaying a top view image of a road surfacearound the vehicle body seen from above on the monitor, based on animage captured by the camera, when the monitor is switched to thevertically elongated posture.

With this configuration, when the monitor is switched to the verticallyelongated posture, even though the switches are not operated, the imageof surroundings of the vehicle body seen from above can be displayedlengthwise along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, andtherefore, the driver can check the surroundings of the vehicle bodywithout effort. As a result, the display device can be configured insuch a manner that the road surface condition and the presence of theobstacle on the rear side and the lateral side of the vehicle body canbe displayed on the monitor during the parking of the vehicle body,without effort but with excellent visibility.

In the present invention, the display control unit may be configured todisplay the image captured by the camera on the monitor, when themonitor is switched to the horizontally elongated posture. With thisconfiguration, by simply changing the posture of the monitor to thehorizontally elongated posture, the image captured by the camera can bedisplayed as-is on the monitor, and thus the surroundings of the vehiclebody can be checked with a simple operation.

The display device according to the present invention may furtherinclude a shift position sensor for detecting a shift position of atransmission device of the vehicle body, the camera may be a rear camerafor capturing an image rearward of the vehicle body, and the displaycontrol unit may be configured to shift a display mode to a rearwardimage display mode in which an image captured by the rear camera isdisplayed on the monitor, when the monitor is set to the horizontallyelongated posture and the shift position sensor detects that the shiftposition is set to a reverse position.

With this configuration, when the vehicle body moves backward, the imagecaptured by the rear camera is displayed on the monitor in thehorizontally elongated posture, and when the monitor is switched to thevertically elongated posture, the top view image is displayed on themonitor. In other words, in a situation where the vehicle body is movedbackward, the condition rearward of the vehicle body displayed on themonitor in the horizontally elongated posture can be recognized. Inaddition, in this display state, when the monitor is switched to thevertically elongated posture, even though the switches are not operated,the image of surroundings of the vehicle body seen from above can bedisplayed lengthwise along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body,and therefore, the driver can check the surroundings of the vehicle bodywithout effort.

The display device according to the present invention may furtherinclude a viewpoint conversion unit for converting at least the imagecaptured by the rear camera into a bird's-eye image seen from above thevehicle body, wherein the display control unit displays the bird's-eyeimage on the monitor as the top view image when the display mode is inthe top view image display mode. According to this configuration, in thetop view image display mode, the bird's-eye image is displayed on themonitor to allow recognition of the road surface condition around thevehicle body.

The display device according to the present invention may furtherinclude a side camera for capturing from above the road surface near aside part of the vehicle body to obtain a side image, wherein thedisplay control unit displays the side image on the monitor as the topview image when the display mode is in the top view image display mode.According to this configuration, in the top view image display mode, theside image is displayed on the monitor to allow the recognition of theroad surface condition around the vehicle body.

The display device according to the present invention may furtherinclude: a viewpoint conversion unit for converting at least the imagecaptured by the rear camera into a bird's-eye image seen from above thevehicle body; and a side camera for capturing from above the roadsurface near a side part of the vehicle body to obtain a side image,wherein the display control unit selects one of the bird's-eye image andthe side image in accordance with an operation of a display selectionswitch and displays the selected image on the monitor as the top viewimage, when the display mode is in the top view image display mode.According to this configuration, in the top view image display mode, oneof the bird's-eye image and the side image is selected by the displayselection switch and displayed on the monitor, to allow the recognitionof the road surface condition around the vehicle body.

The display device according to the present invention may furtherinclude a navigation system for acquiring a position of the vehicle bodyas position information represented by the terrestrial longitude andlatitude and generating a navigation image in which a position specifiedby the acquired position information is indicated on a correspondingmap, wherein the display control unit performs a processing of anavigation image display mode in which the navigation image is displayedinstead of the top view image, when the monitor in the top view imagedisplay mode is switched to the horizontally elongated posture and theshift position is in a position other than the reverse position.According to this configuration, when the monitor in the top view imagedisplay mode is switched to the horizontally elongated posture and theshift position is in the position other than the reverse position, thenavigation image is displayed on the monitor, to allow the recognitionof the position of the vehicle body on the map.

In the present invention, the display control unit may perform aprocessing of the rearward image display mode in which the imagecaptured by the rear camera is displayed on the monitor instead of thetop view image, when the monitor in the top view image display mode isswitched to the horizontally elongated posture and the shift position isin the reverse position. According to this configuration, when themonitor in the top view image display mode is switched to thehorizontally elongated posture and the shift position is in the reverseposition, a rearward image captured by the rear camera is displayed onthe monitor. In other words, the image of the view in the movingdirection of the vehicle body (rear view) is displayed on the monitor,to thereby facilitate the checking of the condition rearward of thevehicle body.

In the present invention, the display control unit may be configured todisplay an image obtained by enlarging the side image as the top viewimage, when the display mode is in the top view image display mode, themonitor displaying the side image as the top view image is switched tothe horizontally elongated posture and the shift position is in aposition other than the reverse position. With this configuration, whenthe side image is displayed as the top view image, the shift position isset to the position other than the reverse position and the monitor isswitched to the horizontally elongated posture, the image obtained byenlarging the side image is displayed as the top view image. With thisconfiguration, details in the vicinity of the vehicle body can bechecked.

In the present invention, the camera may include: a right side camerafor capturing the road surface on a right side of the vehicle body; anda left side camera for capturing the road surface on a left side of thevehicle body, the horizontally elongated posture of the monitor may beset as a standard posture, the monitor may be supported switchablybetween the standard posture and a right rotation posture which is thevertically elongated posture obtained by rotating the monitor in thestandard posture to the right in which a right end side of the monitoris moved downward, or between the standard posture and a left rotationposture which is the vertically elongated posture obtained by rotatingthe monitor in the standard posture to the left in which a left end sideof the monitor is moved downward, and the display control unit may beconfigured to perform a processing of a side image display mode inwhich: a standard image is displayed, when the monitor is in thestandard posture; an image captured by the right side camera isdisplayed on the monitor as the top view image, when the monitor isswitched from the standard posture to the right rotation posture; and animage captured by the left side camera is displayed on the monitor asthe top view image, when the monitor is switched from the standardposture to the left rotation posture.

With this configuration, when the standard image is displayed on themonitor and the monitor is switched to the left rotation posture, theimage captured by the left side camera is displayed on the monitor asthe top view image. Conversely, when the monitor is rotated to theright, the image captured by the right side camera is displayed on themonitor as the top view image. In other words, when a region on thelateral side of the vehicle body is displayed on the monitor, by settingthe monitor to the vertically elongated posture, a long region along thevehicle body extending in the front-rear direction is displayed, andthus useless display areas are eliminated. Moreover, since theprocessing in the mode of switching the displayed subject on the monitor(shift in the mode) is performed by rotating the monitor to the left forchecking the left side of the vehicle body and by rotating the monitorto the right for checking the right side of the vehicle body,uncomfortable feeling in operation is eliminated to enable an intuitiveoperation. As a result, the display device is provided for displayingthe road surface condition and the presence of the obstacle on thelateral side of the vehicle body on the monitor during parking of thevehicle body, with excellent visibility.

The feature of the present invention lies in that the display deviceincludes: a right side camera for capturing the road surface on a rightside of the vehicle body; and a left side camera for capturing the roadsurface on a left side of the vehicle body; a monitor provided in avehicle interior; and a display control unit for controlling a displayon the monitor, the monitor having a rectangle-shaped display face,wherein the horizontally elongated posture of the monitor is set as astandard posture, and the monitor is supported switchably between thestandard posture and a right rotation posture which is the verticallyelongated posture obtained by rotating the monitor in the standardposture to the right in which a right end side of the monitor is moveddownward, or between the standard posture and a left rotation posturewhich is the vertically elongated posture obtained by rotating themonitor in the standard posture to the left in which a left end side ofthe monitor is moved downward, and the display control unit performs aprocessing of a side image display mode in which: a standard image isdisplayed, when the monitor is in the standard posture; an imagecaptured by the right side camera is displayed on the monitor, when themonitor is switched from the standard posture to the right rotationposture; and an image captured by the left side camera is displayed onthe monitor, when the monitor is switched from the standard posture tothe left rotation posture.

With this configuration, when the standard image is displayed on themonitor and the monitor is switched to the left rotation posture, theimage captured by the left side camera is displayed on the monitor.Conversely, when the monitor is rotated to the right, the image capturedby the right side camera is displayed on the monitor. In other words,when the region on the lateral side of the vehicle body is displayed onthe monitor, by setting the monitor to the vertically elongated posture,the long region along the vehicle body in the front-rear direction isdisplayed, and thus the useless display areas are eliminated. Moreover,since the processing in the mode of switching the displayed subject onthe monitor (shift in the mode) is performed by rotating the monitor theleft for checking the left side of the vehicle body and by rotating themonitor to the right for checking the right side of the vehicle body,the uncomfortable feeling in operation is eliminated to enable theintuitive operation. As a result, the display device is provided fordisplaying the road surface condition and the presence of the obstacleon the lateral side of the vehicle body on the monitor during parking ofthe vehicle body, with excellent visibility.

The present invention may further include a front camera for capturingan image forward of the vehicle body, wherein the display control unitperforms a processing of a forward image display mode in which an imagecaptured by the front camera is displayed on the monitor as the standardimage. According to this configuration, the region forward of thevehicle body is displayed on the monitor when the monitor is in thestandard posture, and thus checking of the forward condition isfacilitated.

The present invention may further include a rear camera for capturing animage rearward of the vehicle body, wherein the display control unitperforms a processing of a rearward image display mode in which an imagecaptured by the rear camera is displayed on the monitor as the standardimage. According to this configuration, the region rearward of thevehicle body is displayed on the monitor when the monitor is in thestandard posture, and thus checking of the rearward condition isfacilitated.

The present invention may further include a navigation system foracquiring a position of the vehicle body as position informationrepresented by the terrestrial longitude and latitude and generating anavigation image in which a position specified by the acquired positioninformation is indicated on a corresponding map, wherein the displaycontrol unit performs a processing of a navigation image display mode inwhich the navigation image is displayed as the standard image. Accordingto this configuration, the navigation image is displayed on the monitorwhen the monitor is in the standard posture, and thus the checking ofthe position of the vehicle body on the map is facilitated.

The present invention may further include: a front camera for capturingan image forward of the vehicle body; a rear camera for capturing animage rearward of the vehicle body; and a shift position sensor fordetecting a shift position of a transmission device of the vehicle body,wherein the display control unit performs a processing of a forwardimage display mode in which an image captured by the front camera isdisplayed on the monitor as the standard image, and a processing of arearward image display mode in which an image captured by the rearcamera is displayed on the monitor as the standard image, when theforward image display mode is performed and the shift position sensordetects that the shift position is operated to a reverse position.

According to this configuration, when the image captured by the frontcamera is displayed on the monitor and the shift position of thetransmission device is operated to the reverse position, the imagecaptured by the rear camera is displayed on the monitor. When themonitor displaying the image captured by the front camera or the rearcamera is rotated to the left, the image captured by the left sidecamera is displayed on the monitor, and conversely, when the monitor isrotated to the right, the image captured by the right side camera isdisplayed on the monitor.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention exerts an effect that the road surface conditionand the presence of the obstacle on the rear side and the lateral sideof the vehicle body can be displayed on the monitor during the parkingof the vehicle body, without effort but with excellent visibility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overview of a vehicle body.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a portion near a driver's seat in a firstembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of a monitor in the firstembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a rotational posture change of the monitorin the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram showing a control system in the firstembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a display control routine in the firstembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a posture of the monitor and an imagedisplayed on the monitor in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the posture of the monitor and the imagedisplayed on the monitor in a modified version of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block circuit diagram showing a control system in a secondembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the posture of the monitor and the imagedisplayed on the monitor in the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block circuit diagram showing a control system in a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the posture of the monitor and the imagedisplayed on the monitor in the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block circuit diagram showing a control system in a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the posture of the monitor and the imagedisplayed on the monitor in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the portion near the driver's seat in afifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an arrangement of the monitor in the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a rotational posture change of the monitorin the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block circuit diagram showing a control system in the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of a display control routine in the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the posture of the monitor and the imagedisplayed on the monitor in the fifth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Hereinbelow, a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings.

Overall Configuration

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a passenger vehicle of the present embodiment hasa driver's seat 3 and a passenger seat 4 in a vehicle interior of avehicle body B with front wheels 1 and rear wheels 2. A steering wheel 5and a panel 6 with meters are disposed frontward of the driver's seat 3,and a shift lever 7 for shifting gears is disposed on a lateral side ofthe driver's seat 3.

In a front portion of the vehicle body B of this passenger vehicle,there are disposed an engine E and a transmission device T formed of atorque converter, a CVT and the like for shifting power from the engineE and transmitting the shifted power to the front wheels 1. In the frontportion, a power steering unit PS is provided which is for transmittinga rotational manipulation force of the steering wheel 5 as steeringforce to the front wheels 1. With this configuration, the front wheels 1can function as driving wheels and at the same time as steered wheels.

A gear shift operation of the transmission device T is performed usingthe shift lever 7. By setting a shift position of the shift lever 7, astate of the vehicle body B, including forward movement, backwardmovement, parking and the like, is achieved, and in the vicinity of theshift lever 7, a shift position sensor 7S for detecting the shiftposition is provided. It should be noted that a gear shift setting ofthe transmission device T may be directly detected, by providing theshift position sensor 7S on the transmission device T.

In the vicinity of the driver's seat 3, there are provided in parallelan accelerator pedal 8 for controlling a running speed, and a brakepedal 9 for operating braking devices BK for the front wheels 1 and therear wheels 2 to apply braking force on the front wheels 1 and the rearwheels 2.

In the vicinity of the front wheel 1, there is provided a steering anglesensor 11 for detecting a steering angle. On the other hand, in thevicinity of the rear wheel 2, there is provided a moving distance sensor12 for measuring a moving distance of the vehicle body B from a rotationamount of the rear wheel 2.

A bracket 14 is provided in an upper portion of a console in thevicinity of the driver's seat 3, and on an upper end of the bracket 14,a monitor 16 is supported rotatably by a rotation shaft 15 extending ina front-rear direction. A display face 16S of the monitor 16 isrectangle-shaped, and is switchable between a horizontally elongatedposture and a vertically elongated posture shown in FIG. 4, through arotation about the rotation shaft 15 by a manual operation.

Specifically, the monitor 16 can be switched to either the horizontallyelongated posture or the vertically elongated posture, through arotation in a range of 90 degrees about the rotation shaft 15. In thevicinity of the rotation shaft 15, there is provided a monitor posturesensor 17 for detecting either the horizontally elongated posture or thevertically elongated posture. In addition, in the vicinity of the panel6, there is provided a display selection switch 18 for selecting animage to be displayed when the monitor 16 is in the vertically elongatedposture.

The display selection switch 18 may be of a momentary type or atoggle-type. In a case of the momentary type, due to a control by adisplay mode selecting section 35 (see FIG. 5), a display is switchedevery time the display selection switch 18 is operated. It should benoted that a liquid crystal type monitor with a backlight is assumed asthe monitor 16, or alternatively, the monitor 16 may be of a plasmadisplay type, an organic ELD type, or a CRT type.

In addition, in a case of the monitor 16 whose display face has a touchpanel, the display selection switch 18 may be displayed as operationbutton on the monitor 16. With this configuration, the number ofswitches having electrical contact can be reduced.

Especially, in the present invention, an electric motor may be providedfor a purpose of changing the posture of the monitor 16. Specifically, aconfiguration may be adopted in which a rotation of the monitor 16 isassisted by an actuation of the electric motor in a direction of anoperation when a pressure sensor or the like senses a man-mademanipulation force that rotates the monitor 16, or in which the monitor16 rotates independently. Likewise, a switch for controlling theactuation of the electric motor may provided, and a configuration may beadopted in which the electric motor is controlled in such a manner that,when the switch is operated, the monitor 16 is switched to thevertically elongated posture, and when the switch is operated again, themonitor 16 is returned to the horizontally elongated posture. Thisswitch as well may be displayed as operation button on the touch panel.

On a front end of the vehicle body B, a front camera 21 for capturing aregion including a road surface on a front side of the vehicle body isprovided, and on a rear end of the vehicle body B, a rear camera 22 forcapturing a region including the road surface on a rear side of thevehicle body is provided.

On a left side door, there is provided a left side mirror 23L whosehousing contains a left side camera 24L for capturing, from above, aregion of the road surface in the vicinity of a left side of the vehiclebody ranging from the front end to the rear end of the vehicle body B.Likewise, on a right side door, there is provided a right side mirror23R whose housing contains a right side camera 24R for capturing, fromabove, a region of the road surface in the vicinity of a right side ofthe vehicle body ranging from the front end to the rear end of thevehicle body B. It should be noted that the left side camera 24L and theright side camera 24R may be perpendicularly oriented relative to theroad surface, or alternatively, may be inclined in a range in which thecamera can capture the road surface from above.

Each of these cameras includes an imaging optical system with awide-angle lens, and an imaging element of a CCD type or a CMOS type,and has a function of outputting the captured images as moving pictureat a speed of more than several images per second.

The passenger vehicle is provided with a navigation system 25 foracquiring a position of the vehicle body B as position informationrepresented by the terrestrial longitude and latitude by receiving radiosignals from GPS satellites, and for generating a navigation image inwhich a position specified by the acquired position information isindicated on a corresponding map (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 7, the monitor 16 displays any one of the navigationimage (HN) generated by the navigation system 25, a rearward image (HR)captured by the rear camera 22, a side image (VL) captured by the leftside camera 24L, and a bird's-eye image (VT). The side image (VL)captured by the left side camera 24L and the bird's-eye image (VT)correspond to the top view image in the present invention.

Since the left side camera 24L captures, from above, the road surfacenear a side part of the left side of the vehicle body B, the side image(VL) includes a road surface image, and an image of a part of thevehicle body B may also be contained. Likewise, the image captured bythe right side camera 24R may include the image of the part of thevehicle body B other than the road surface.

Especially, when the bird's-eye image is to be generated, the imagescaptured by the front camera 21, the rear camera 22, the left sidecamera 24L, and the right side camera 24R are processed through aprojective transformation so as to attain a viewpoint conversion withwhich an image seen from above the vehicle body B is obtained, and thusimages Tf, Tb, Ts, Ts are created. Then, an image is generated in whichthe images Tf, Tb, Ts, Ts are mapped around an image of the vehicle bodyB. It should be noted that means to perform the viewpoint conversion isnot limited to the projective transformation, and other transformtechnique may be used.

As display control unit for displaying any one of images, a monitorcontrol ECU 30 is provided in the vehicle body B.

Though not shown, the monitor control ECU 30 may allow a forward imagecaptured by the front camera 21 and the side image captured by the rightside camera 24R to be displayed on the monitor 16 by an optionaloperation. In this case, the side image captured by the right sidecamera 24R also corresponds to the top view image in the presentinvention.

Display Control System

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the display control system. The monitorcontrol ECU 30 includes an image interface 31 for acquiring the imagescaptured by the front camera 21, the rear camera 22, the left sidecamera 24L, and the right side camera 24R. The monitor control ECU 30further includes: a viewpoint conversion unit 32 as viewpoint conversionmeans for generating the bird's-eye image from four images acquiredthrough the image interface 31; and a parking assist image compositesection 33 for making a composite image from an image captured by therear camera 22 and a parking assist image.

The monitor control ECU 30 is further provided with a selector 34 forselecting any one of images from among: the bird's-eye image generatedby the viewpoint conversion unit 32; the composite image obtained fromthe image captured by the rear camera 22 with which the parking assistimage is combined by the parking assist image composite section 33; theside image captured by the left side camera 24L; and the navigationimage generated by the navigation system 25. The monitor control ECU 30is further provided with the display mode selecting section 35 forcontrolling the selector 34, and an operation setting section 36 forsetting an operation form of the display mode selecting section 35.

The viewpoint conversion unit 32 has a signal system for inputtingsignals from the steering angle sensor 11 and the moving distance sensor12, and creates the images Tf, Tb, Ts, Ts through the projectivetransformation of the four images captured by the front camera 21, therear camera 22, the left side camera 24L, and the right side camera 24Rand acquired through the image interface 31, so as to attain theviewpoint conversion with which the image seen from above the vehiclebody B is obtained. Then, by mapping the images Tf, Tb, Ts, Ts aroundthe image of the vehicle body B, the bird's-eye image (VT) seen fromabove the vehicle body B is generated (see FIG. 7).

The parking assist image composite section 33 makes a composite imagefrom the image captured by the rear camera 22 and the parking assistimage, in such a manner that the parking assist image, such as an areato which the vehicle body B is led, and an area where the vehicle body Breaches when moving a set distance, is superimposed on the road surface,and to display the composite image on the monitor 16.

The display mode selecting section 35 is provided with a microprocessor(not shown), and outputs a control signal to the selector 34, based onsignals input from the shift position sensor 7S, the monitor posturesensor 17, and the display selection switch 18.

The display mode selecting section 35 is provided with a software forselecting any one of a navigation image display mode, a rearward imagedisplay mode, and a top view image display mode. Based on a set signalfrom the operation setting section 36, the display mode selectingsection 35 performs a processing relevant to the images acquired fromfour cameras as described in this first embodiment, as well as aprocessing relevant to the images acquired from less than four cameraswhich will be described later.

The navigation image display mode is selected when the monitor 16 is setto the horizontally elongated posture, and at the same time, the shiftposition detected by the shift position sensor 7S is in a position otherthan a reverse position. On the other hand, the rearward image displaymode is selected when the monitor 16 is set to the horizontallyelongated posture, and at the same time, the shift position detected bythe shift position sensor 7S is in the reverse position. With thisconfiguration, when the monitor 16 is set to the horizontally elongatedposture and the shift lever 7 is operated to the reverse position, thedisplay on the monitor 16 is shifted from the navigation image displaymode to the rearward image display mode.

When the display mode is in the rearward image display mode and themonitor 16 is switched from the horizontally elongated posture to thevertically elongated posture, the display on the monitor 16 is shiftedfrom the rearward image display mode to the top view image display mode.In the top view image display mode, one of the bird's-eye imagegenerated by the viewpoint conversion unit 32 and the side imagecaptured by the left side camera 24L is displayed on the monitor 16,based on a selection with the display selection switch 18.

Display Control

In the display device according to the present invention, the displaymode selecting section 35 selects the image to be displayed on themonitor 16, based on the posture of the monitor 16 and the shiftposition of the shift lever 7. The outline of the control form is shownin a flow chart of FIG. 6. In addition, the display states of themonitor 16 corresponding to this control form are shown in FIG. 7.

When the monitor 16 is set to the horizontally elongated posture and theshift lever 7 is in the shift position other than the reverse position(shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN) is displayed on themonitor 16 (steps #101-#103).

This processing is performed when the following conditions are met: itis determined that the monitor 16 is in the horizontally elongatedposture, based on a detection result by the monitor posture sensor 17;and it is determined that the shift lever 7 is set to the shift positionother than the reverse position (shift position≠R), based on thedetection result by the shift position sensor 7S.

When the conditions are met, the display mode selecting section 35selects the navigation image display mode, and the selector 34 selectsthe navigation image (HN) generated by the navigation system 25. Itshould be noted that the navigation image is to be displayed in thepresent embodiment, or alternatively, the forward image captured by thefront camera 21 may be displayed on the monitor 16.

Next, when it is determined based on the detection result by the shiftposition sensor 7S that the shift position of the shift lever 7 isoperated to the reverse position (shift position=R), the rearward image(HR) is displayed on the monitor 16 (steps #102 and #104).

In this processing, the display mode selecting section 35 selects therearward image display mode, and the selector 34 selects the rearwardimage (HR) from the rear camera 22 with which the parking assist imageis combined by the parking assist image composite section 33.

When the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shift position=R) andthe monitor 16 is switched from the horizontally elongated posture tothe vertically elongated posture, the top view image is displayed. Asthe top view image, the bird's-eye image (VT) or the side image (VL) isdisplayed, based on the selection with the display selection switch 18.The control continues until it is reset (steps #101 and #105-#109). Itshould be noted that, in addition to this control, a control form may beset in such a manner that, when the shift lever 7 is in the shiftposition other than the reverse position (shift position≠R) and themonitor 16 is switched from the horizontally elongated posture to thevertically elongated posture, the bird's-eye image (VT) is displayed.

In this control, when it is determined based on the detection result bythe monitor posture sensor 17 that the monitor 16 is in the verticallyelongated posture, the display mode selecting section 35 selects for thedisplay either the bird's-eye image (VT) generated by the viewpointconversion unit 32, or the side image (VL) captured by the left sidecamera 24L based on the selection with the display selection switch 18,and the selector 34 selects and outputs the image in accordance with theselection result by the display mode selecting section.

It should be noted that a push operation type switch is assumed as thedisplay selection switch 18, and the bird's-eye image (VT) and the sideimage (VL) are switched every time a push operation is performed, oralternatively, the display selection switch 18 may be a switch in whichone of two operation positions is selected, such as toggle switch andslide switch.

Once the monitor 16 is set to the vertically elongated posture and thetop view image of either the bird's-eye image (VT) or the side image(VL) is displayed on the monitor 16, the bird's-eye image (VT) or theside image (VL) is retained to be displayed regardless of the operationposition of the shift lever 7. With this configuration, even when thebackward movement and the forward movement of the vehicle body B arerepeated, the top view image is retained to be displayed, and thus theregion which otherwise cannot be visually checked by the driver can berecognized through the monitor 16.

Afterward, when the monitor 16 is switched to the horizontally elongatedposture and the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shiftposition=R), the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16. Onthe other hand, when the shift lever 7 is in the shift position otherthan the reverse position (shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN)is displayed on the monitor 16.

With this display configuration, by utilizing the posture of the monitor16 and the shift position, when the vehicle body B is moved backward tothe parking position, it becomes possible to check the conditionrearward of the vehicle body B, as well as the road surface conditionaround the vehicle body B through the top view image, and the roadsurface on the left side of the vehicle body through the side image.

Modified Version of First Embodiment

Especially, as a modified version of the first embodiment, the displayselection switch 18 may be absent, and the control form may be set insuch a manner that the bird's-eye image (VT) alone is displayed on themonitor 16, as shown in FIG. 8, when the conditions for displaying thetop view image are met.

The display in this case can be achieved by inputting the set signal forsetting the display mode to the operation setting section 36 in themonitor control ECU 30. In other words, the above-described display ofthe different images can be achieved by using the monitor control ECU 30having the same configuration.

Second Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 9, this second embodiment is different from the firstembodiment in that only the rear camera 22 and the left side camera 24Lare provided, and the front camera 21, the right side camera 24R, andthe display selection switch 18 are absent. With this configuration, theside image captured by the left side camera 24L is displayed on themonitor 16 as the top view image.

Display Control

In this second embodiment also, like in the first embodiment, thedisplay mode selecting section 35 sets the image to be displayed on themonitor 16, based on the posture of the monitor 16 detected by themonitor posture sensor 17 and the shift position of the shift lever 7detected by the shift position sensor 7S. The states of the monitor 16in this display control are shown in FIG. 10.

Specifically, like in the first embodiment, when the monitor 16 is setto the horizontally elongated posture and it is determined that theshift lever 7 is in the shift position other than the reverse position(shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN) is displayed on themonitor 16.

Next, when the shift lever is operated to the reverse position (shiftposition=R), the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16.

Next, when the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shiftposition=R) and the monitor 16 is switched from the horizontallyelongated posture to the vertically elongated posture, the side image(VL) is displayed as the top view image. It should be noted that, inaddition to this control, a control form may be set in such a mannerthat, when the shift lever 7 is in the shift position other than thereverse position (shift position≠R) and the monitor 16 is switched fromthe horizontally elongated posture to the vertically elongated posture,the bird's-eye image (VT) is displayed.

Afterward, when the monitor 16 is switched to the horizontally elongatedposture and the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shiftposition=R), the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16, andwhen the shift lever 7 is in the shift position other than the reverseposition (shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN) is displayed onthe monitor 16.

With this display configuration, by utilizing the posture of the monitor16 and the shift position, when the vehicle body B is moved backward tothe parking position, it becomes possible to check the conditionrearward of the vehicle body B, as well as the road surface conditionaround the vehicle body B through the top view image.

The display in the second embodiment can be achieved by using the samemonitor control ECU 30 as that described in the first embodiment, andinputting the set signal for setting the display mode to the operationsetting section 36.

Third Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 11, this third embodiment is different from the firstembodiment in that only the rear camera 22 is provided, and the frontcamera 21, the right side camera 24R, the left side camera 24L, and thedisplay selection switch 18 are absent. With this configuration, thebird's-eye image generated by the viewpoint conversion unit 32 isdisplayed on the monitor 16 as the top view image.

Display Control

In this third embodiment also, like in the first embodiment, the displaymode selecting section 35 sets the image to be displayed on the monitor16, based on the posture of the monitor 16 detected by the monitorposture sensor 17 and the shift position of the shift lever 7 detectedby the shift position sensor 7S. The states of the monitor 16 in thisdisplay control are shown in FIG. 12.

Specifically, like in the first embodiment, when the monitor 16 is setto the horizontally elongated posture and it is determined that theshift lever 7 is in the shift position other than the reverse position(shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN) is displayed on themonitor 16.

Next, when the shift lever 7 is shifted to the reverse position (shiftposition=R), the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16.

Next, when the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shiftposition=R) and the monitor 16 is switched from the horizontallyelongated posture to the vertically elongated posture, the bird's-eyeimage (VT) is displayed as the top view image. It should be noted that,in addition to this control, a control form may be set in such a mannerthat, when the shift lever 7 is in the shift position other than thereverse position (shift position≠R) and the monitor 16 is switched fromthe horizontally elongated posture to the vertically elongated posture,the bird's-eye image (VT) is displayed.

In this third embodiment, for the bird's-eye image (VT), a rearwardimage (Tb) showing a view rearward of the vehicle body B is to bedisplayed, and a display form is set in such a manner that the rearwardimage (Tb) showing the view rearward of the vehicle body B is displayedrelatively far from the vehicle body B. In addition, when the vehiclebody B is moved backward, in conjunction with this backward movement,the rearward images (Tb) which have been displayed already are mapped asside images (Ts) showing side views from the vehicle body B, so that theroad surface condition can be recognized through the side images (Ts)showing the both lateral side views from the vehicle body B on themonitor 16.

It should be noted that this processing of the displayed rearward images(Tb) to obtain the side images (Ts) showing the side views from thevehicle body B is not necessarily performed, and the processing form fordisplaying the bird's-eye image may be set in such a manner that therearward image (Tb) showing the view rearward of the vehicle body Balone is displayed on the monitor 16.

Afterward, when the monitor 16 is switched to the horizontally elongatedposture and the shift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shiftposition=R), the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16. Onthe other hand, when the shift lever 7 is in the shift position otherthan the reverse position (shift position≠R), the navigation image (HN)is displayed on the monitor 16.

With this display configuration, by utilizing the posture of the monitor16 and the shift position, when the vehicle body B is moved backward tothe parking position, it becomes possible to check the conditionrearward of the vehicle body B, as well as the road surface condition onthe rear side of the vehicle body B through the top view image.

The display in the third embodiment also can be achieved by using thesame monitor control ECU 30 as that described in the first embodiment,and inputting the set signal for setting the display mode to theoperation setting section 36.

Fourth Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 13, like the first embodiment, this fourth embodimentis provided with the front camera 21, the rear camera 22, the left sidecamera 24L, and the right side camera 24R, and further with a leftswitch 41, a right switch 42, and a monitoring switch 43.

It should be noted that, in the case of the monitor 16 whose displayface has the touch panel, at least one of the left switch 41, the rightswitch 42 and the monitoring switch 43 may be displayed as operationbutton on the monitor 16. By using the touch panel, the number ofswitches having electrical contact can be reduced.

Display Control

In this fourth embodiment also, like in the first embodiment, thedisplay mode selecting section 35 sets the image to be displayed on themonitor 16, based on the posture of the monitor 16 detected by themonitor posture sensor 17, the shift position of the shift lever 7detected by the shift position sensor 7S, the left switch 41, the rightswitch 42, and the monitoring switch 43. The states of the monitor 16 inthis display control are shown in FIG. 14.

Specifically, when the monitor 16 is in the horizontally elongatedposture, the navigation image (HN) is displayed, and when the monitor 16is switched from the horizontally elongated posture to the verticallyelongated posture and the shift lever 7 is in the shift position otherthan the reverse position (shift position≠R), a navigation image (VN) isconsecutively displayed.

In this vertically elongated posture, when the monitoring switch(monitoring SW) 43 is in an ON state and the shift position of the shiftlever 7 is set to the reverse position (shift position=R), thebird's-eye image (VT) is displayed on the monitor 16 as the top viewimage. When the monitoring switch 43 is turned off while the bird's-eyeimage (VT) is displayed, the navigation image (VN) is displayed whilethe vertically elongated posture is retained.

When the left switch 41 is turned on while the bird's-eye image (VT) isdisplayed, the side image (VL) captured by the left side camera 24L isdisplayed on the monitor 16 as the top view image. Likewise, when theright switch 42 is turned on, a side image (VR) captured by the rightside camera 24R is displayed on the monitor 16 as the top view image. Inaddition, when the right switch 42 is turned on while the left sideimage (VL) is displayed on the monitor 16, or when the left switch 41 isturned on while the right side image (VR) is displayed on the monitor16, the bird's-eye image (VT) is displayed as the top view image.

When the monitor 16 is switched from the vertically elongated posture tothe horizontally elongated posture and the shift lever 7 is in the shiftposition other than the reverse position (shift position≠R) while theleft side image (VL) is displayed on the monitor 16, a side image (HLm)which is obtained by enlarging the image captured by the left sidecamera 24L is displayed on the monitor 16 as the top view image.Likewise, when the monitor 16 is switched from the vertically elongatedposture to the horizontally elongated posture and the shift lever 7 isin the shift position other than the reverse position (shift position≠R)while the right side image (VR) is displayed on the monitor 16, a sideimage (HRm) which is obtained by enlarging the image captured by theright side camera 24R is displayed on the monitor 16 as the top viewimage. In these cases, an operation button for altering a position ofthe enlarged image may be displayed on the monitor 16, and a position ofa region to be enlarged in the side image may be shifted in accordancewith the operation of the operation button.

When the shift lever 7 is retained at the reverse position (shiftposition=R) and the monitor 16 is switched from the vertically elongatedposture to the horizontally elongated posture while the bird's-eye image(VT) is displayed, the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor16. The rearward image (HR) is displayed also when the shift lever 7 isoperated to the reverse position (shift position=R) while the monitor 16is in the horizontally elongated posture and the navigation image (HN)is displayed.

When the shift lever 7 is operated to the reverse position (shiftposition=R) while the enlarged side image (HLm) is displayed on themonitor 16 as described above, or when the shift lever 7 is operated tothe reverse position (shift position=R) while the enlarged side image(HRm) is displayed on the monitor 16 as described above, the rearwardimage (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16.

With this display configuration, it becomes possible to check the roadsurface condition around the vehicle body through the top view image onthe monitor 16, as well as the condition in the vicinity of the right orleft side of the vehicle body B selected by the driver. Moreover, it isalso possible to check the details in the vicinity of the vehicle body Bthrough the enlarged image.

The display in the fourth embodiment can be achieved by using the samemonitor control ECU 30 as that described in the first embodiment, andinputting the set signal for setting the display mode to the operationsetting section 36.

Fifth Embodiment

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, the monitor 16 isconfigured so that the display face 16S is switchable between thehorizontally elongated posture as a standard posture and the verticallyelongated posture, through a left rotation or a right rotation about therotation shaft 15 by the manual operation. In other words, the monitor16 is supported by the rotation shaft 15 rotatably in a range of 90degrees to the right or left, from the horizontally elongated posture asthe standard posture. With this configuration, the monitor 16 isswitchable to either a left rotation posture as the vertically elongatedposture in which a left end side of the monitor 16 in the standardposture is moved downward or a right rotation posture as the verticallyelongated posture in which a right end side of the monitor 16 in thestandard posture is moved downward.

In addition, the monitor posture sensor 17 according to the presentembodiment is configured to detect which one of the standard posture,the left rotation posture, and the right rotation posture the monitor isin, and the display selection switch 18 is configured to select an imageto be displayed on the monitor 16 in the standard posture. Further, asshown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in the present embodiment, there is provided abird's-eye image display switch 19 for displaying the bird's-eye imageon the monitor 16 in the left rotation posture or the right rotationposture.

The monitor posture sensor 17 outputs signals corresponding to thestandard posture, the left rotation posture and the right rotationposture, by combining limit switches, reed switches or the like, orusing a rotary encoder or the like. Each of the display selection switch18 and the bird's-eye image display switch 19 may be of a momentary typeor a toggle-type. It should be noted that, in present embodiment, aconfiguration with the momentary type is described, and the display modeselecting section 35 (see FIG. 18) determines that the switch is in anOFF state when not operated, the switch is in an ON state when a pushingoperation is performed, and the switch is in the OFF state when anotherpushing operation is performed.

In addition, in the case of the monitor 16 whose display face has thetouch panel, at least one of the display selection switch 18 and thebird's-eye image display switch 19 may be displayed as operation buttonon the monitor 16. By using the touch panel as described above, thenumber of the switches having electrical contact can be reduced.

It should be noted that the other configurations are the same as thosein the first embodiment.

Display Control System

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of the display control system. It shouldbe noted that the same components as those in the first embodiment aredesignated with the same reference characters, and thus a duplicatedescription is omitted.

The display mode selecting section 35 according to the presentembodiment supplies the selector 34 with information corresponding to aplurality of display modes which will be described below, based on thesignals input from the shift position sensor 7S, the monitor posturesensor 17, the display selection switch 18, and the bird's-eye imagedisplay switch 19, and the selector 34 switches the image displayed onthe monitor 16, in accordance with the information from the display modeselecting section 35.

The display mode selecting section 35 is provided with the software forselecting any one of a forward image display mode, the navigation imagedisplay mode, the rearward image display mode, a side image displaymode, and a bird's-eye image display mode.

The forward image display mode is selected when the display selectionswitch 18 is turned off while the monitor 16 is set to the standardposture (horizontally elongated posture). In other words, in conjunctionwith the OFF operation of the display selection switch 18, the image tobe displayed on the monitor 16 is shifted to the image captured by thefront camera 21.

The navigation image display mode is selected when the monitor 16 is setto the standard posture (horizontally elongated posture), the displayselection switch 18 is in the ON state, and the shift position detectedby the shift position sensor 7S is in the position other than thereverse position. In other words, in a case where the monitor 16 is inthe standard posture and the display selection switch 18 is in the ONstate, when the shift position sensor 7S detects that the shift positionreaches the position other than the reverse position, in conjunctionwith this, the image to be displayed on the monitor 16 is shifted to thenavigation image.

The rearward image display mode is selected when the monitor 16 is setto the standard posture (horizontally elongated posture) and the shiftposition detected by the shift position sensor 7S is in the reverseposition. In other words, in a case where the monitor 16 is in thestandard posture, when the shift position sensor 7S detects that theshift position reaches the reverse position, in conjunction with this,the image to be displayed on the monitor 16 is shifted to the imagecaptured by the rear camera 22.

The side image display mode is selected when the monitor 16 is switchedfrom the standard posture to the left rotation posture or the rightrotation posture. When the monitor 16 is switched from the standardposture to the left rotation posture, a left road surface image (imageof the left road surface) captured by the left side camera 24L isselected, and when the monitor 16 is switched from the standard postureto the right rotation posture, a right road surface image (image of theright road surface) captured by the right side camera 24R is selected.In other words, in conjunction with the switching of the posture of themonitor 16, the image to be displayed on the monitor 16 is shifted fromthe standard image which will be described later to the left roadsurface image or the right road surface image. In the presentembodiment, the left road surface image and the right road surface imagecorrespond to the top view image in the present invention.

The bird's-eye image display mode is selected when the monitor 16 is inthe left rotation posture or the right rotation posture and thebird's-eye image display switch 19 is turned on, and then the bird's-eyeimage generated by the viewpoint conversion unit 32 is selected to bedisplayed on the monitor 16. In other words, in conjunction with the ONoperation of the bird's-eye image display switch 19, the image to bedisplayed on the monitor 16 is shifted to the bird's-eye image.

Display Control

In the display device according to the present embodiment, the displaymode selecting section 35 selects the image to be displayed on themonitor 16, based on the posture of the monitor 16 and the shiftposition of the shift lever 7. The outline of the control form is shownin a flow chart of FIG. 19. In addition, the display states of themonitor 16 corresponding to this control form are shown in FIG. 20.

When the monitor 16 is in the standard posture and the display selectionswitch (display selection SW) 18 is in the OFF state, a forward image(HF) is displayed on the monitor 16. When the display selection switch18 is turned on, the navigation image (HN) is displayed on the monitor16. When the display selection switch 18 is in the OFF state and theshift lever 7 is in the reverse position (shift position=R), therearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16 (steps #101-#103).

These forward image (HF), navigation image (HN), and rearward image (HR)correspond to the standard image in the present invention. In the casewhere any one of these three standard images is displayed, when themonitor 16 is switched to the left rotation posture, the left roadsurface image (VL) is displayed, and when the monitor 16 is switched tothe right rotation posture, the right road surface image (VR) isdisplayed (steps #105-#108).

In other words, when the monitor 16 in the standard posture is rotatedto the left to be switched to the vertically elongated posture (leftrotation posture), the road surface image on the left side of thevehicle body B is displayed on the monitor 16. When the monitor 16 inthe standard posture is rotated to the right to be switched to thevertically elongated posture (right rotation posture), the road surfaceimage on the right side of the vehicle body B is displayed on themonitor 16.

As described above, after the monitor 16 is switched from the standardposture to the vertically elongated posture (left rotation posture orright rotation posture), when the monitor 16 is returned to the standardposture, any one of the forward image (HF), the navigation image (HN),and the rearward image (HR) is displayed on the monitor 16 (steps #109and #110).

As a specific display form, in a case where the monitor 16 is returnedfrom the vertically elongated posture (left rotation posture or rightrotation posture) to the standard posture, when the shift lever 7 is inthe shift position other than the reverse position (shift position≠R)and the display selection switch 18 is in the OFF state, the forwardimage (HF) is displayed on the monitor 16.

In the case where the monitor 16 is returned from the verticallyelongated posture (left rotation posture or right rotation posture) tothe standard posture, when the shift position of the shift lever 7 is inthe reverse position (shift position=R), the rearward image (HR) isdisplayed on the monitor 16.

Further, in the case where the monitor 16 is returned from thevertically elongated posture (left rotation posture or right rotationposture) to the standard posture, when the shift lever 7 is in the shiftposition other than the reverse position (shift position≠R) and thedisplay selection switch 18 is in the ON state, the navigation image(HN) is displayed on the monitor 16.

In a case where the monitor 16 is in the right rotation posture or theleft rotation posture, when the bird's-eye image display switch(bird's-eye image display SW) 19 is turned on, the bird's-eye image (VT)is displayed on the monitor 16 (steps #111-#113).

In this control, when the bird's-eye image display switch 19 is turnedoff, the left road surface image (VL) or the right road surface image(VR) is displayed on the monitor 16 instead of the bird's-eye image(VT), and when the bird's-eye image display switch 19 is retained in theOFF state, the display of the left road surface image (VL) or the rightroad surface image (VR) which has been already displayed is retained(steps #104, #111-#113).

In this control, when the monitor 16 is set to the left rotation postureor the right rotation posture, the image is retained to be displayedeven though the shift lever 7 is operated. Therefore, in a case wherethe shift lever 7 is switched between the reverse position and theposition other than the reverse position, such as a case where thevehicle body B is led to the parking position, even when the backwardmovement and the forward movement of the vehicle body B are repeated,the display on the monitor 16 is retained, and the region which cannototherwise be visually checked by the driver can be recognized throughthe monitor 16.

With this display configuration, when the vehicle body B is movedbackward to the parking position, by utilizing the posture of themonitor 16 and the shift position, the needed image is displayed on themonitor 16, and thus it becomes possible to check the condition rearwardof the vehicle body B through this image. In addition, when thebird's-eye image is displayed, it becomes possible to check the roadsurface condition around the vehicle body B, and to check the roadsurface on the left side of the vehicle body through the road surfaceimage.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be used in the display device for displayingthe image captured by the on-board camera on the monitor provided in thevehicle interior of the vehicle body, such as automobile.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   B Vehicle body-   T Transmission device-   HF Forward image (standard image)-   HN Navigation image (standard image)-   HB Rearward image (standard image)-   VL Side image (top view image)-   VT Bird's-eye image (top view image)-   HLm Enlarged side image (top view image)-   HRm Enlarged side image (top view image)-   7S Shift position sensor-   Monitor-   16S Display face-   18 Display selection switch-   21 Front camera-   22 Rear camera-   24L Left side camera (side camera)-   24R Right side camera (side camera)-   25 Navigation system-   32 Viewpoint conversion unit-   30 Monitor control ECU (display control unit)

1. A display device comprising: a right side camera for capturing theroad surface on a right side of the vehicle body; a left side camera forcapturing the road surface on a left side of the vehicle body; a monitorprovided in a vehicle interior; and a display control unit forcontrolling a display on the monitor, the monitor having arectangle-shaped display face and being supported switchably between ahorizontally elongated posture as a standard posture and a rightrotation posture which is the vertically elongated posture obtained byrotating the monitor in the standard posture to the right in which aright end side of the monitor is moved downward, or between the standardposture and a left rotation posture which is the vertically elongatedposture obtained by rotating the monitor in the standard posture to theleft in which a left end side of the monitor is moved downward, and thedisplay control unit being configured to perform a processing of a sideimage display mode in which: a standard image is displayed, when themonitor is in the standard posture; an image captured by the right sidecamera is displayed on the monitor as the top view image, when themonitor is switched from the standard posture to the right rotationposture; and an image captured by the left side camera is displayed onthe monitor as the top view image, when the monitor is switched from thestandard posture to the left rotation posture.
 2. The display deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising a front camera for capturing animage forward of the vehicle body, wherein the display control unit isconfigured to perform a processing of a forward image display mode inwhich an image captured by the front camera is displayed on the monitoras the standard image.
 3. The display device according to claim 1,further comprising a rear camera for capturing an image rearward of thevehicle body, wherein the display control unit is configured to performa processing of a rearward image display mode in which an image capturedby the rear camera is displayed on the monitor as the standard image. 4.The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a navigationsystem for acquiring a position of the vehicle body as positioninformation represented by the terrestrial longitude and latitude andgenerating a navigation image in which a position specified by theacquired position information is indicated on a corresponding map,wherein the display control unit is configured to perform a processingof a navigation image display mode in which the navigation image isdisplayed as the standard image.
 5. The display device according toclaim 1, further comprising: a front camera for capturing an imageforward of the vehicle body; a rear camera for capturing an imagerearward of the vehicle body; and a shift position sensor for detectinga shift position of a transmission device of the vehicle body, whereinthe display control unit is configured to perform a processing of aforward image display mode in which an image captured by the frontcamera is displayed on the monitor as the standard image, and aprocessing of a rearward image display mode in which an image capturedby the rear camera is displayed on the monitor as the standard image,when the forward image display mode is performed and the shift positionsensor detects that the shift position is operated to a reverseposition.